The Public Theatre News

Katori Hall's The Mountaintop will hit Broadway this fall, however, with only one of it's previously announced stars. Samuel L. Jackson will open the play as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his Broadway debut, however the team is in search of a new Camae, as Halle Berry has departed the piece due to child custody issues.'

National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF) will hold its Annual Chairman's Awards Gala and benefit on Monday, May 2 at the St. Regis New York hotel (2 East 55th Street at Fifth Avenue). This year, NCTF Chairman James S Turley, Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young, will honor Oscar and Tony Award-winner Joel Grey (on Broadway this season in Anything Goes and director of Broadway's The Normal Heart), Charles Dillingham (Managing Director, Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles) and BNY Mellon. Accepting the award on behalf of Corporate Honoree will be Gerald Hassell, President. All net proceeds of the event will be distributed as the NCTF/BNY MELLON FUND FOR NEW AMERICAN THEATRE.

LITTLE BLACK DRESS - a new play by Ronan Noone, whose play THE ATHEIST starring Campbell Scott enjoyed considerable success Off-Broadway in 2008 - will be given its New York premiere this spring Off-Broadway, with previews set to begin Sunday, May 1 prior to an official press opening on Thursday, May 5 at Theatre at St. Clement's (423 W. 46 St.) in Manhattan.

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) (1220 Fifth Avenue), in its forthcoming exhibition Joel Grey / A New York Life, examines the enduring impact that legendary actor Joel Grey and his adopted city have made on each other. Through rare artifacts from his stage and screen career, objects from his personal collection, and his own photography, MCNY offers a unique look at New York through Grey's eyes as well as a visual retrospective of his career. The exhibition's opening night reception will take place on the evening of Monday, April 11, which is also Grey's 79th birthday. It will open to the public the following day, and remain on display through Monday, August 8.

Upcoming Theatre Communication Group Member Shows - 4/10 for Maine

Making its Midwest premiere in the birthplace of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W. and Dr. Bob is an inspirational, gripping and timely story about the men and their wives whose relationships pioneered the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous and the creation of Al-Anon.

kef theatrical productions (Adam Fitzgerald, Artistic Director) is proud to present the World Premiere of Israela Margalit's First Prize, directed by Margaret Perry.

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, will conclude its 27th Season with the Tony Award-winning musical Passing Strange. Directed by Kate Warner, with music direction by Todd C. Gordon, and choreography by Kelli Edwards, Passing Strange begins performances on May 1 and runs through May 22, 2011.

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Producing Artistic Director), will celebrate the Centennial Year of its late founder Rosetta LeNoire at a Gala evening on Monday, April 4th, featuring a special 'Blast from the Past' concert of William Finn's songs from the celebrated Romance in Hard Times, starring Tony-Winner Lillias White and a veteran cast of Broadway professionals. The event takes place at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, East 25th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenues, at 7pm.

Upcoming Theatre Communication Group Member Shows - 4/03 for Maine

Asolo Repertory Theatre today announced its selections and details for the 2011 Unplugged festival of new plays. Playwrights include Jeff Baron, one of the world's most-produced playwrights in the past decade; Jamie Pachino, winner of this year's Francesca Primus Prize from the American Theatre Critics Association; Bill Rosenfeld, who was nominated for 30 Grammy Awards and won 4 times; and Mat Smart, winner of two Jerome Fellowships and the San Diego Playbill Award for Best New Play.

Classic Stage Company (CSC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Jessica R. Jenen, continues its 44th season with DOUBLE FALSEHOOD, written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, adapted for the 18th Century stage by Lewis Theobald, and directed by Kulick. DOUBLE FALSEHOOD will close at CSC (136 East 13th Street) Sunday, April 3.

The Theatre School at DePaul University proudly presents PINKALICIOUS THE MUSICAL, book by Elizabeth Kann & Victoria Kann, music by John Gregor, lyrics by John Gregor, Elizabeth Kann & Victoria Kann, directed by Lisa Portes, as the final installment of the 2010-2011 Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences Series.

The New York Times reports today that Will Swenson (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Hair) will direct independent feature film adaptation of Carol Lynn Pearson's play 'Facing East.' Pearson is also writing the screenplay. The play centers on a family's struggle to come to terms with their Morman faith after losing their gay son to suicide. The subject mater is not far from Swenson's heart, as he witnessed similar struggles within his own childhood Mormon community. Say Swenson of the project: 'Getting through my own adolescence as a young Mormon was challenging as it was, but watching my best friend struggle with his identity as a gay teenager was heartbreaking.'

Upcoming Theatre Communication Group Member Shows - 3/27 for Maine

Award?winning playwright and actress Heather Raffo, a 2010-11 Artist in Residence at Vassar, sponsored by the Mellon Foundation, will return to the college during spring 2011 for a six-week residency and will give two public presentations.

Making its Midwest premiere in the birthplace of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W. and Dr. Bob is an inspirational, gripping and timely story about the men and their wives whose relationships pioneered the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous and the creation of Al-Anon.

Two brilliant women, centuries apart, push the boundaries of science while grappling with motherhood in San Jose Repertory Theatre's production of Legacy of Light, by Karen Zacarías. DC Theatre Scene calls this adventurous comedy '... an intellectual joyride ... a wonderful play, well worth seeing.'

Two brilliant women, centuries apart, push the boundaries of science while grappling with motherhood in San Jose Repertory Theatre's production of Legacy of Light, by Karen Zacarías. DC Theatre Scene calls this adventurous comedy '... an intellectual joyride ... a wonderful play, well worth seeing.'

terraNOVA Collective will hold a post-show discussion with the audience immediately following performances of their mainstage production, FEEDER: A LOVE STORY at HERE (145 6th Avenue - Entrance on Dominick Street, 1 block south of Spring Street) on Monday, March 21. Admission to these special events is included with the purchase of a ticket to any performance of Feeder: A Love Story.